10% first quarter dip in West End audiences

West End box office returns were down 6% in the first quarter of this year, according to figures released by the Society of London Theatre, while attendances were down 10%.

Figures for this year’s first quarter were affected by the fact that several West End musical houses – including the 2,200-seat Theatre Royal Drury Lane – were dark in between shows. Also, Easter, a traditionally strong weekend for the West End, fell later in the calendar year.

Big openings in the coming weeks include Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.